Creating the French Version of the “Quebec Society Course” taught online, through
Moodle, at Carleton University.
Dominique Kpoghomou
An internship report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Master of Arts (Educational Technology)
Department of
Education
Concordia University
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
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Internship Report – Dominique Kpoghomou, 2015
Concordia University
Department of Education
This is to certify that the internship report prepared
By: Dominique Kpoghomou
Entitled: Creating the French Version of the “Quebec Society Course” taught
online, through Moodle, at Carleton University
and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Master of Arts (Educational Technology)
complies with the regulations of this University and meets
the accepted standards with respect to originality and
quality.
Signed by the final examining committee:
____________________________________ Supervisor
____________________________________ Reader
____________________________________ Reader
____________________________________ Internship
Coordinator
Approved by______________________________
Chairman of Department or
Graduate Program Director
Date Presented: ________________________
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract
Chapter 1 - About the Internship
About the Internship Host
Background of the Host Organization
Organizational Structure.
Description of the Department
Expected Duties and Outcomes of the Internship
Learning Plan for my internship
Progress for monitoring the internship
Particulars of the internship
Chapter 2 - About the Internship Project: Creating the French version of the
Quebec Society course at Carleton University, in Moodle
Project1: Learning
The project team and requirements
Phase I: Overview of Learning Management Systems (LMS)
Phase II: Study of Moodle as Learning Management Systems (LMS)
1. Introduction to Moodle
Before starting to work on the this important project, I had to start
planning to work efficiently on it in advance, which is why I communicated
with my on-site supervisor to advise about what I should learn in order to
be more prepared for this project. She advised me to learn Moodle and
especially the “activities” subject. I immediately started learning Moodle
from Concordia University Website, as a student user since I had already
used it before, and then I searched on the Internet some documents,
including that of moodle.org, and I finally worked more on Lynda.com,
which helped to be more prepared before started the Internship. The
following lessons are what I learned previous and during the internship.
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New features that come with Moodle version 2.6
Moodle 2.6 came out with the following features:
Responsive design:
TinyMCE editor:
SkyDrive integration
Updated calendar
Password recovery
Annotate PDFs
Enhanced quiz feedback
Enhanced marking
New Editing tools
Single-activity courses
2. Exploring Moodle 2.6
Signing in
Exploring the layout
Setting your profile settings
Configuring messaging preferences
Understanding roles and permissions
Changing role titles
Turning on the course editor
Configuring course format
Adding section titles
Adding media with labels
Creating a welcome message
Configuring sidebar blocks
Adding a Google Map
3. Adding Instructional Content
Adding assignments
Configuring self-grading quizzes Creating quiz questions
Adding YouTube videos on a new page
Uploading resources
Using the activity chooser
4. Adding Students
Enrolling students
Student self-registration
Batch enrolling students
Setting permissions
Creating groups
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5. Managing Communication
Posting course news
Sending messages to students
Seeing who is online
Student feedback
Class surveys
6. Exploring the gradebook
Grading and the Gradebook
How students submit work
Grading submitted assignments
Grading with scales
Chapter 3: Application of the lessons learned on the project
The Translation of the English version of the Quebec Society Course; its
insertion and adaptation in Moodle.
The Use of Google to Translate the course from English to French
The use of antidote to improve the translation
The Use of HTLM codes to Adapt the French Version
Insertion of Text, images and videos in Moodle
Chapter 3: Adding Closed Caption to the Quebec Society Course
Phase 1: Overview of Camtasia Studio 8
Working with Media and Effects
Importing media
Animating visual properties
Adding transitions
Phase 2: Closed Captioning with Camatasia2
Working with Captions
Using Speech-to-Text
Syncing with a script
Adding captions manually
Exporting and importing captions
Making movies searchable
Quality Assurance tests
Documenting the work done for future updates
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Chapter 4 – Other Learning Opportunities at Carleton University
Phase 1 Learning With Colleagues and other interns: E-Porfolio
Squarespace
Wordpress
Phase 2: Learning Project management with the on-site supervisor
Managing project timing
Multi-tasking in project Management
Chapter 5 – Lessons Learned
How Courses in the Program Prepared Me for this Internship Human
Fundamentals of Instructional Design (ETEC 650)
Fundamentals of Human Performance Technology (ETEC 650)
Project Management (ETEC 672)
Human Resources Development (ETEC 676)
Designing and Developing Web-based Instruction (ETEC 669)
Lessons Learned From the Work Experience of the Internship
Lesson 1: Manage your time to avoid project delays
Lesson 2: Never minimise help from colleagues
Lesson 3: Plan for unexpected situation during a project
Lesson 4: Never be shy to ask questions during an Internship
Chapter 6 – Suggestions
Suggestions For the Host Organization
Suggestion 1: Encourage interns and new employees to visit workplace before the
work starts
Suggestion 2: Take notes all the time during an internship
Suggestion 3: Strengthen Communication within
Suggestion 4: Plan for an additional time for unexpected issues during the
internship
Suggestions For the Educational Technology Program
Suggestion 1: Focus on an e-learning practical project during the program
Suggestion 2: Plan to use many instructional design applications use at the
workplace
Suggestions For Future Interns
Suggestion 1: Master all courses list in your program and remember them
Suggestion 2: Apply as you can all the Technology-Related courses you took during
your Educational Technology Program
References
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ABSTRACT
This is the report of a 675 hour internship as an instructional designer Assistant with
EDC, a department within Carleton University. In this internship, I completed the
following project: The first one was to understand what is Moodle, how it works and to
lean how to use it in an academic setting. The second was to translate the Quebec Society
course taught to distance learner students, from English to French. The third one was to
improve the course by the use of some multimedia elements, such as images, videos and
closed captioning with Camtasia, and then, finally conduct a quality check in
collaboration with some work colleagues.
It is important to acknowledge that the Quebec Society course was already developed in
English and my main job was to translate it into French and improve its quality by
addition video captioning with Camasia2. After the introduction of Carleton University to
me, I was immediately taught the an introduction course of Moodle. I learned in Moodle
the following part: part 1, …….. After learning how to use Moodle, I started using the
English version of the course to create the version, with the assistance of my supervisor. I
had to find the corresponding information of the English version of the Course in French
and add it in its corresponding section of the Moodle platform. In addition to my main
tasks of translating the Quebec Society course in Moodle, I had the opportunity to learn
from colleagues, some notions on how to use e-portfolio using some applications, such as
Mahara, Squarespace and Wordpress.
The report closes with suggestions for the decision makers of the EDC of Carlon
University in the internship. That is why I suggest allocating more time to the next interns
in order to allow them to use their potential capabilities for the university’s projects. For
the Instructional Designer Team, I would like them to specifically identify all the
applications they use for their projects and avail the corresponding documents used to the
interns and other employees in advance, prior the internship. For the Educational
Technology Program at Concordia University, I suggest offering a course on an elearning course with a practical project before the ETEC students complete their studies.
For the website Designer course, to indicate to the students the current web development
applications used in today’s business world. For future interns, I suggest they plan more
ahead their internship by being in touch with their internship organization in advance, so
that they cam be prepared to start the internship well.
CHAPTER 1 - ABOUT THE INTERNSHIP
I completed my internship at the EDC of Carleton University. This chapter explains what
I experienced during my internship with the people, the environment as well the
knowledge I acquired in working for an organization in which Educational technology
and Instructional design activities are heavily applied. This chapter also compares what I
intended to learn before the internship and what I actually learned during this internship.
The description of the EDC introduces this chapter, followed by the expected duties and
the outcome of the internship. The next point that follows is the learning plan for my
internship and the description of the process that monitors the internship activities. The
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particulars of the internship include the emotional interactions that occurred between the
EDC employees, the executives of EDC and I, which close this internship.
ABOUT THE INTERNSHIP HOST
At this point, I briefly describe the host organization and the role I played in it during my
internship. It starts by describing the background of Carleton University, followed by its
structure, and ends with the description of the EDC where I completed my internship.
Background of the Host Organization
Carleton University is an institution created to support education.
Cite and describe its different services
Figure 1-1: Image of its different services
Organizational Structure
http://carleton.ca/senate/academic-governance/article-1/
http://carleton.ca/about/
Figure 1-2: Organizational Structure of EDC
Diagram of the strucure
Explain the role of each function of the staff
Description of the Department EDC
(http://carleton.ca/edc/contact-us/)
Explain the mission of EDC and the roles of each staff member, including myself and my
supervisor.
EXPECTED DUTIES AND OUTCOMES OF THE INTERNSHIP
As an intern at EDC, I mainly worked on one large project: The translation of the
Whole semester called “The Quebec Society Course” from English to French in
Moodle. To complete this important project on time I had to be able to:
1. Determine what is a Learning Management System (LMS) and how it works
2. Learn how Moodle works and how to use it to create course
3. Translate documents from English to French and insert them into Moodle
4. Improve the quality of the work by closed captioning error corrections (quality
insurance)
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EXPECTED DUTIES AND OUTCOMES OF THE INTERNSHIP
Upon the completion of my courses at Concordia University and being a bilingual intern
with a technological and educational background, I was contacted by the Educational
Department of Carleton University for two main reasons: Translation of the Quebec
Society course from English to French and its integration into Moodle of Carleton
University. The English version of the Quebec Society course was already created and
went live, but Carleton University needed to have the French version of that course for
the distance French language students, which is the main reason why I was hired as
intern.
Table 1-1: Major Deliverables and Tasks in the Internship and the Anticipated
Completion Dates
Tasks
Anticipated completion date
May 20, 2014: My installation at Carleton University
May 27, 2014: Getting to know Carleton University and EDC
June 27, 2014: Learn how to use Moodle through some practices
July 27, 2014: Translation of the Quebec Society Course in Moodle
August 27, 2014: Completion of translation and improving the quality of the course
August 28, 2014: Celebration of the Project’s Completion
August 29, 2014: End of the Internship
Some analysis done before starting this internship project.
Although the needs analysis of this project was done, for my own understanding I had to
find out how the analysis was conducted before the completion the actual English version
of the Quebec’s Society.
Needs assessment
As the course was already online in the Moodle, I was curious to know how the need
analysis was conducted before the first course was developed in English. After I asked
my supervisor about the history of the online learning program I was told that another
online application called blackboard was used, which was changed to Moodle because of
some technological adaption issues. To accomplish this task, I had to communicate with
her to find out were to get the French version of the different images and videos found in
the English version of the course.
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The main need expressed by my supervisor was to look at the English version and create
exactly a copy of the same course in French.
Understanding LMS
I had to make a list of what I will have to do:
1. Understand Carleton System
2. Understand How EDC System works
a. The Human resources
b. The Physical resources
c. The process of Work
- The payroll system
- The work Process
(Who report to whom)
- My Coworkers (Employees and other Interns)
What I had to learn
I was asked to tell my need of learning beside the Internship duties
1. Learn Moodle indpently
a. Started learning Moodle before going to Carleton University
b. The course I received about Moodlle
c. Understanding how the English version of the course works
d. Practicing in the English version of the work
e. Creating the French version of the Work
f. The text
g. The images
i. The videos
Closed Captioning
Camatsia 2: Deficition
How it works
What I did with it
What I learned beside the main project
Notions of E-Portfolios
Applications for creating e-portfolios
- Wordpress
- Weebly
- Squarespace
What is Moodle and how does it work
Configuration of Moodle for The Quebec’s Society Course
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Customization of LMS in French (in collaboration with my On-site Supervisor)
Customization of LMS (in collaboration with the programmer)
Quality Assurance
Instructions on the locations of work files for future use
Navigational instruction for the Quebec’s Society Course
The Integration of Multimedia in Moodle
LEARNING PLAN FOR MY INTERNSHIP
The internship was the capstone of my degree program in educational technology. It
intended to let me apply my learning in practice, as well as continue the development of
my skills and knowledge on the job.
I began the internship with certain skills, knowledge, and experience, which qualified me
for this position. Table 1-2 describes the specific qualifications sought by the EDC and
the skills, knowledge, and experience I brought to it.
The learning plan of Internship
The internship was the capstone of my degree program in educational technology. It
intended to let me apply my learning in practice, as well as continue the development of
my skills and knowledge on the job.
I began the internship with certain skills, knowledge, and experience, which qualified me
for this position. Table 1-2 describes the specific qualifications sought by the EDC and
the skills, knowledge, and experience I brought to it.
Table 1-2: Specific Qualifications Sought by the EDC and the Skills, Knowledge,
and Experience I Brought
Characteristics Sought by the Employer
Familiar with customers and co-workers and group dynamics from my previous jobs
Computer and web programming skills
Familiar with learning theories and effective teaching strategies.
Skills, Knowledge and Experience I Brought
I have:
Been given nursing responsibilities during my nursing internships. Cared for
patients.
Implemented nursing interventions specific to my patients’ health condition.
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I am able to:
Describe some learning theories (such as behaviourism, constructivism and
cognitivism). Describe teaching strategies .
I have:
Taught computer science and high mathematics.
How I Developed these Skills, Knowledge and Experience
Familiar with selecting, setting up and managing a learning management system (LMS).
Familiar with selecting a website development tool, creating and managing a website.
I only used LMSs in a student perspective
I had experience of creating a website with the basic elements: HTML, CSS and
JavaScripts
My graduate studies required me to use Moodle LMS for course registration and
managing my courses.
The goal of this internship was to expand my skills, knowledge and experience. Table 1-3
describes the competencies I hoped to develop through this internship, and the
experiences that would contribute to that development.
Table 1-3:
Task
Understanding how LSM work
Learning how to use Moodle
Configuration of Moodle for the French version of the course
The desired competencies I would like to acquire by the end of the Internship
Competencies I Would Like to Develop Through this Internship and the
Experiences That Would Contribute to It
Competencies I Already Have Knowledge
I already knew what a LMS is.
Skills
I had used Moodle LMS in a student’s perspective.
Competencies I Need to Develop
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Knowledge
I did not know how to LMS work and how to use them
Congiration of Moodle LMS for the French version of the course.
Skills
I had never used any LMS in an instructor or teacher’s perspective
Learning Objectives.
LMS
Configure Moodle LMS for the French version of the Quebec Society course
Learning Strategies
I researched on LMS and I learned how to use Moodle before starting the Internship
In order to be effective during the Internship I communicated with my On-site supervisor
to learn what I should learn in order to be ready for a good internship from the day one. I
was advised to learn how to use Moodle through some online applications or learning
programs, such as Lynda,com.
LMS
I planned to perfectly understand what is a LMS and how to use Moodle to create and
manager a course.
I also planned to:
- use Multimedia in Moodle, using Camtasia.
- Get information from:
Reading articles (see references for list of readings) and forums Discussing it with others
who have selected a LMS before (such as those responsible for selecting the LMS at
Carleton and Concordia University).
- Research on how to effectively manage Project a project
As the work was a lot in a very short period of time, I have update my knowledge in the
project management course I took at Concordia university.
In addition to this I also had to take a personal time management course
- Recall on my website course
Although there is lot programming in a Learning Management system, I needed to update
my knowledge in HTML in order to fix some problems that could not be directly fixed
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through visual aspect of Moodle.
Multimédia
As multimedia in one of the important elements of the course, especially the images and
video, I had to focus a particular attention on it, so that at the end of the Internship I could
be able to install photos and videos in the course.
The use of different e-portfolio creation applications to enhance education at EDC
Knowledge
I knew what an e-portfolio is but I never knew
Skills
I could navigate in an e-portfolio and create a basic personal information e-portfolio in
WordPress but I did not have enough knowledge to create a perfect one.
Knowledge
I did not know how to find a good e-portfolio application and how to effectively use it.
Skill
I had never created a domain name and host its contents in order to be seen online
PROGRESS FOR MONITORING THE INTERNSHIP
A monitoring process provided a structure to the educational experience and ensured
ongoing contact between the intern and the faculty at Concordia. The monitoring process
has two components.
The first is internship logs, which supposed to be submitted to my faculty supervisor after
I completing every 100 internship hours were submitted after more than 100 hours
completed because of the delay to find place were to stay before the internship started,
and provided the following information:
Date of the log
Number of hours completed since the last log
Total number of hours
completed in the internship
Key accomplishments during this period
Lessons
learnt
Messages for the faculty supervisor
Structured abstracts of readings completed
during the period
The second component was the mid-internship visit, which should occur sometime
between 375 and 425 hours of the internship. Due to the distance between Montreal and
Carleton University and the fact that there was a bit delay before starting writing the
report, my faculty supervisor, the Internship Coordinator and my on-site supervisor
attended my mid-term internship presentation through Skype. All the participants agreed
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that the Internship was going well,
PARTICULARS OF THE INTERNSHIP
The start-up of the internship was contingent on being a bilingual (English and French)
student, as well as successfully passing an Interview in the presence of 3 people: The
Deputy Director of the EDC and two other Instructional Designers, including my
supervisor .
This internship took place at: 125 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Carleton
University
The internship started on May 20, 2014 and completed on August 29, 2014. In general, I
worked 35 hours per week, but with the size and requirement of the project I sometimes
worked more than 40 hours.
The following people supported me during my internship: My On-site supervisor,
Maristela
My Faculty supervisor, Dr. Steven Shaw, Associate Professor
The Internship Coordinator, Rosa Cerone, Department of Education, LB-579
1455 de
Maisonneuve Boulevard West
Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8;
rcerone@education.concordia.ca
CHAPTER 2 - ABOUT THE INTERNSHIP PROJECTS
This chapter describes the single but long project I completed during my internship:
Learning what a LMS is and how it works. Its also describes what Moodle is and how it
works. Once I leaned how to use Moodle, I had to create the French version of the course
in Moodle.
After creating the French version of this course, the next step is to check the integrity of
the different multimedia elements installed in it. Finally, we have to perform a quality
assurance check, wish should allow to us to make sure that project is well done and
nothing has been forgotten.
THE PROJECT: CREATING THE FRENCH VERSION OF THE QUEBEC
SOCIETY COURSE IN MOODLE.
My single and main internship project involved creating the French version of the
Quebec Society course in Moodle. But, in order to effectively complete this project I had
to understand and learn how to use the following elements:
1. Learning Management System (LMS) and how it works
2. What Moodle is and how does it work
3. How to insert and adapt different contents in Moodle
4. How to perform a Quality insurance check
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Information about Learning Management System (LMS)
Definition: A learning management system (LMS) is an application that provides a
comprehensive set of tools for educators to manage learning resources, administrative
functions, assessments, and grading. As it facilitates online learning through a centralized
place were materials can be accessed by people who register for that purpose. It allows
learners to register to events, and keep records on the progress of people so that it could
be reflected in their employment and licensing records.
How does it work
In some cases a single but complex application can perform many other built-in
fucntions which is usually used at universities or colleges. Some ot them are able
to communicate with some outside applications.
Process for creating the French version of the course in Moodle
Process for creating the French version of the course in Moodle System
The process for creating the Moodle LMS involve four particular deliverable or service.
1. Learning Management System (LMS) and how it works
2. What Moodle is and how does it work
3. How to insert and adapt different contents in Moodle
4. How to perform a Quality insurance check
Phase 1: Recall of the project requirements
A performance needs assessment is a set of activities used to understand the request for a
project and define its objectives (Carliner, 2003). I needed to conduct a needs assessment
for the LMS project because I had to verify the information that was given to me by my
client, identify any missing information, and then collect further information needed for
the project.
A needs assessment involves three main activities: clarifying the request and identifying
the business need, identifying the performance gap and the intended performers, and
identifying the constraints of the project (Carliner, 2003). The information learned is
summarized in a Report of the Needs Assessment, which also includes the objectives of
the project and the means for evaluating its performance.
In the next several sub-sections, I describe each of these activities. For each, I will
describe what I did and the information I learned. When describing the report of the
needs assessment, I share with my conclusions I reached through these activities.
Phase 1: Analyses of the English version of the course
In this situation, there should be a performance needs assessment, which is a set of
activities used to understand the request for a project and define its objectives (Carliner,
2003). In order to be able to perfectly understand what has to be done, I should conduct a
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need assessment for this French translation project in Moodle, because I had to
communicate with the representative of the client, who is the course teacher. I was
introduced to the course teacher by my on-site supervisor in order to communicate with
her so that I can translate to English version of the course as exactly it was.
A needs assessment involves three main activities: clarifying the request and identifying
the business need, identifying the performance gap and the intended performers, and
identifying the constraints of the project (Carliner, 2003). The information learned is
summarized in a Report of the Needs Assessment, which also includes the objectives of
the project and the means for evaluating its performance.
Activity 1 - Recall of the project of the French version requirements
The first step was to clarify the request and identify the business need of the project,
which is the reason why the translation has to be done. To do so, I interviewed my client,
Anne Trépanier, the course teacher. The request was to create a French version of the
same course, which is exactly the translation of the English version.
The interview was necessary because it allowed the Course’s instructor and I to speak the
same language.
Activity 2 – Identification of some performance GAPS to be considered in the project
This was an easy activity to perform as we already had the English version of the course,
so the performance Gap was the lack of the French version and how to do the transition
and insert the French one in Moodle.
Resolving Communication problems
In order to avoid communication issue between the team members we established since
the Beginning and Excel file on with we put the deadlines of our project’s deliverables.
The Excel file we created was stored in a drop box we created. This helped us to
efficiently communicate on the different elements of the project.
Activity 3 - Identify the Constraints of the Project
The third activity of the needs assessment was to identify the constraints of the project.
Constraints include budget, deadline, and attitude toward the subject matter, which may
affect the planning, and management of the project (Carliner, 2003). The EDC had a
small budget, a limit of 4 months to complete the project, and limited resource to work on
the project: no specialized translation software to be used and only four team members to
work on it (I had to do English/Frecnh translation and get it checked by the course’s
instructor, two instructional designers (to assist implement the course in Moodle in case
of difficulties) and a media specialist to insert the Video elements on the media server.
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I found that these constraints made the project much more challenging and stressful. I
panicked with the thought of proposing a high-quality solution within all the constraints
of the project. Project constraints are normal to have, and may be overwhelming. From
this activity, I learned different ways to manage these limitations. To meet project
deadline, I learned the importance of scheduling due dates for each of the phases in this
project. To ensure low-budget solutions, I considered free sources and existing tools such
as Google translator..
Activity 4: Report of the Needs Assessment
Based on my analysis, I prepared an informal recommendation regarding the way to work
should be done in order to have a better solution. For instance, I advised the course
teacher to put any document to be translated in the Excel file first before I translate and
insert them in Moodle.
Activity 1 – Some important Features of Moodle Moodle has some important functions
to be known, such as RSS that we needed for a parallel project we could complete due to
a lack of time.
Phase 3: Install and Customize the LMS
Once we chose the LMS and management approved my recommendation, the
programmer and I prepared for the next phase: installing and customizing the LMS. That
involved five activities:
1. Prepare for installation, purchase a domain name
2. Prepare for installation, select and rent a server
3. Prepare for customization by choosing a Moodle template
4. Prepare for customization by designing and developing a storyboard for the LMS
5. Install and configure Moodle on our server once customizations were all prepared 42
The following sub-sections describe all of these activities except the last, installing and
configuring, because the programmer performed that, not I.
Phase 3: The Use of Moodle to Create the French version of the Course.
Once we chose the LMS and management approved my recommendation, the
programmer and I prepared for the next phase: installing and customizing the LMS. That
involved five activities:
6. Prepare for installation, purchase a domain name
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7. Prepare for installation, select and rent a server
8. Prepare for customization by choosing a Moodle template
9. Prepare for customization by designing and developing a storyboard for the LMS
10.
Install and configure Moodle on our server once customizations were all prepared
42
The following sub-sections describe all of these activities except the last, installing and
configuring, because the programmer performed that, not I.
Activity 1– Configuration of Moodle in French for the French.
Activity 2– The of the different features to create the French versiob
Although we had a domain, it ultimately had to point to a real website. And the
files for that website had to physically be stored on a server. So the second activity in
planning for installation involved selecting and renting that server.
Servers are computers that manage network resources. Within the context of this project,
servers are computers that store your website files. Upon request, it will deliver the
content of the web page to the reader. For example, if the address,
http://cefd.ca/contactus, was entered in an Internet browser (such Internet Explorer), this
sends a request through the Internet, connects with the server that is storing cefd.ca files,
locates the web page called ‘contactus’ and then sends the content of the page back to the
reader.
We did not rent the servers used by McGill University or the McGill University Health
Centre because they charged too much and had to go through a lengthy approval process.
So we did what many other organizations do: rented a server from a company that
specializes in that service. This service is called a hosting service because the company
hosts a website. The programmer and I decided to choose hosting services from TMD
Hosting, a company that the programmer had used before.
Activity 3 – Choose a Moodle Template
With the tasks involved in planning for
installation complete, we could move onto
activities required to prepare for customizing Moodle once it was installed. The first of
those tasks is choosing a Moodle template. In general, a template is a pattern or mold
used as a guide to the form of a piece being made. Within the context of Moodle, a
template a pattern used to guide the visual appearance of your web pages. It has preselected features of the screen such as font, text style, formatting, tables, graphics and
other elements commonly used in a web page. This is particular useful for creators who
have minimal time to design their website.
Moodle provides several templates for use at its general website: moodle.org. When
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choosing a template, I was specifically looking for a template that would not take much
time to customize. So I chose a template that the programmer had told me that he had
used on a previous Moodle project. Figure 2-4 illustrates the Moodle template we chose.
Activity 3 – Insertion of different French data in Moodle
With the tasks involved in planning for installation complete, we could move onto
activities required to prepare for customizing Moodle once it was installed. The first of
those tasks is choosing a Moodle template. In general, a template is a pattern or mold
used as a guide to the form of a piece being made. Within the context of Moodle, a
template a pattern used to guide the visual appearance of your web pages. It has preselected features of the screen such as font, text style, formatting, tables, graphics and
other elements commonly used in a web page. This is particular useful for creators who
have minimal time to design their website.
Moodle provides several templates for use at its general website: moodle.org. When
choosing a template, I was specifically looking for a template that would not take much
time to customize. So I chose a template that the programmer had told me that he had
used on a previous Moodle project. Figure 2-4 illustrates the Moodle template we chose.
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Figure 2-4 – Our Moodle Template
Activity 4 – The translation phase
After choosing a template, I began the second activity in preparing to customize Moodle:
designing and developing storyboards of the LMS. Bozarth (2012) explains that
storyboards “lay out and visualize branching decision making and simulations, showing
consequences of actions” (p. 1). In my case I would use storyboards to lay out the
following types of screens that would be used with Moodle: the homepage and course
page.
The reasons that I needed to create storyboards for these screens were to illustrate the
images and text displayed on each screen, as well as provide programming instruction
that describe what will happen when readers perform an action on the screen, such as
clicking on a hyperlink.
Storyboarding was more complicated than I thought. I was not familiar with Moodle and
made many assumptions on how it works. For example, I assumed that we could easily
modify the pre-programmed tabs on the navigation bars (such as My home), and set up
Moodle to show and hide documents based on the language users selected to display
(such as English documents are shown while French documents are hidden when users
select English to be displayed on the screen).
I designed all my storyboards based on assumptions. Later, I found out that many of these
assumptions were incorrect and my designs were not possible in Moodle. Modifying pre20
programmed navigation tabs would take too much time to do; it may increase the risk of
technical issues, and may interfere with updating our Moodle version when needed. As
for my second assumption, Moodle cannot control which documents to display based on
the language users select because the language code has no relationship
with the documents. Addressing these incorrect assumptions required that I prepare
several drafts of the storyboards—some to remove the components of the screen that
would not work, others to refine the presentation.
Figures 2-5 and 2-6 show designs for the home page and course page screens that
ultimately emerged.
Activity 5 - Install and Configure the LMS
The final activity in installing and customizing Moodle involved actually installing,
configuring, and customizing the software on the rented server. Configuring involves
setting up the LMS to function in specific ways, such as will you allow users to select
their own time zone, or will you allow anyone to create an account on your LMS (Rice,
2011). The programmer handled all of this activity.
Phase 4: Conduct Quality Assurance
Although we had now installed and customized Moodle, we had to make sure that its
intended users—our learners—could actually use it on their own. As noted earlier, one of
the goals of the projects was to offer “self-service” capabilities to learners.
Quality assurance refers to activities performed throughout the development of software
and other types of products to ensure that they operate as intended. Should the process
identify problems, the development team addresses them immediately (Brandon, 2004).
So I conducted quality assurance tests with the LMS. Specific activities included
conducting an early –or alpha test, conducting a pre-release or beta test, and making
changes based on the data obtained from the tests.
Activity 1 – Technical checking of the translated version
Activity 2 – Language checking of the translated version
Activity 3: Improving the Final version of the course
Figure 2-7: Sample Section from the User’s Guide
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Phase 6: Project Finalization
PROJECT 2: The Use of Camatasia for closed captioning
General information on Camtasia2
Phase 1: Configuration of Camtasia 2
Phase 1: Configuration of Camtasia 2
Phase 2: Preparing the tools needed to use Camatasia 2
Phase 3: Planning for Closed Captioning
Phase 4: Closed captioning of the Project videos
.
CHAPTER 3 – LESSONS LEARNED
This chapter describes the main lessons I
learned from this internship. This
chapter begins by explaining how courses in the program prepared me for the internship,
and then presents specific lessons learned from the work experience.
HOW COURSES IN THE PROGRAM PREPARED ME FOR THIS INTERNSHIP
Several courses that prepared me for this internship, including Human Performance
Technology, Project Management, Introduction to Digital Media, Topics in HPT (also
called Advanced HPT), and Designing and Developing Web-Based Instruction. The
following discussion explains how these courses influenced my internship.
HOW CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY’S COURSES PREPARED ME FOR THIS
INTERNSHIP
Several courses that prepared me for this internship, including Human Performance
Technology, Project Management, Introduction to Digital Media, Topics in HPT (also
called Advanced HPT), and Designing and Developing Web-Based Instruction. The
following discussion explains how these courses influenced my internship.
Human Performance Technology (ETEC 712)
The first course that prepared me for this internship was Human Performance Technology
(ETEC 712). The Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation
(ADDIE) model on which it is based provided a framework for this internship, even
though I worked on a technology project, rather than an instructional design project. The
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course specifically taught me to analyze a situation, prepare storyboards of my ideas,
develop a product and evaluate it with both formative and
summative evaluation techniques, including the Kirkpatrick model of summative
evaluation.
Project Management (ETEC 704)
Project Management (ETEC 704) provided me with a framework for organizing the work
on projects. I explained how to analyze the situation, establish project objectives and
deliverables, set up a timeline for a project, and consider the constraints of a project. This
skill was essential to my internship because I was responsible for managing the LMS and
Website projects.
Introduction to Digital Media (ETEC 665)
Introduction to Digital Media (ETEC 665) introduced me to different types of software
used in developing and administering training programs. The most important piece of
information learned from this course was the differences among Learning Management
Systems (LMS), Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS), and Course
Management Systems (CMS). This was crucial to my internship because I was required
choose one of those systems.
Designing and Developing Web-based Instruction (ETEC 669)
The last course that helped me in my internship was Designing and Developing WebBased Instruction (ETEC 669). This course provided the basic programming knowledge
needed to manage the LMS and website. This course also presented basic web design
principles (such as effective user interface and bandwidth considerations), which helped
me design the LMS and website, and how to use HTML, so I could make some
adjustments to the LMS and website on my own.
LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE WORK EXPERIENCE OF THE
INTERNSHIP
This internship provided me with several opportunities to learn new lessons. This section
describes four that I learned from the work experience: expect and schedule for project
delays; people are more willing to help you than you think; do not underestimate EdTech
magazines, blogs, and forums; and user interface design can never be perfect.
Lesson 1: Expect and Schedule for Project Delays
Lesson 1: Plan for multi-tasking and time management to avoid project Delays
Lesson 2: More learning can take place from co-workers than we think
The lesson I learned was that if a problem arises, do not be afraid to ask for help. People
are more willing to help you than you think!
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Lesson 3: E-Portfolios applications are wonderful tools in education
Lesson 4: Communication is an important tool for learning
The fourth lesson I learned through my internship is that user interface design can never
be perfect. Consider this background. The audience for CEFD is nurses who work in
remote and isolated areas of Quebec. People in these regions mainly connect to the
Internet through a slow dial-up connection. Consequently, webpages, images and videos
take a long time to load, especially when compared to the high-speed connections
available in other parts of Quebec. On average, users in Northern Quebec wait 30 to 120
seconds for a webpage with one or two images and no animation to load. This dial-up
constraint affected the design for the LMS and website.
Other issues also affect web design. Leavitt and Shneiderman (2012) comment that many
people dislike scrolling. So they suggest minimizing the web content to fit into a regular
screen size. To avoid scrolling by minimizing content, however, requires that users load
more pages to gather all of the information on a single page. If I followed this guideline,
users in remote communities might need 10 to 20 minutes to find the information they
want, as opposed to the 1-2 minutes it takes users with high-speed Internet connection.
So I decided to choose speed over optimum length and designed webpages for the CEFD
to be long and involve scrolling. Although this design might overwhelm users with faster
Internet speed connection, I needed to design for the lowest common denominator:
the slow connection. I could only hope that my doing so did not also discourage high
speed users from using the LMS and website.
The lesson I learned from this experience is that design can never be perfect; the design
has to fit the majority of the intended audience.
CHAPTER 4 – SUGGESTIONS
I close my report by offering suggestions to the
stakeholders in the internship. I
will begin offering suggestions to the host organization, then the Educational Technology
program, and last to future interns.
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE HOST ORGANIZATION
The CEFD is a great learning environment and I hope other interns have an opportunity
to work here. To make those internship experiences even more successful than mine, I
would like to offer three suggestions: use project organizers to manage project tasks,
record minutes at meetings, and strengthen communication within the Telehealth
department.
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Suggestion 1: Allocate additional time to interns before projects
(Use Project Organizers to Manage Project Tasks)
My first suggestion is to use project organizers to manage group tasks. The LMS and
Website projects are both huge projects with many tasks. These two projects were
managed amongst five individuals: the programmer, the graphic designer, my on-site
supervisor, the administrator, and me.
But at times, it was unclear who should complete which task, when was it supposed to be
completed, which tasks had to be done first, and which tasks were dependent on others
for completion.
I suggest that the CEFD uses Guru (a project management application used by the
Telehealth department within the McGill University Health Centre) or a similar
application, such as Microsoft Project. These applications allow people to list all of their
deliverables and milestones, including whom will complete the task, number of expected
delay days, and expected start and end date. It also lets people manage the progress of
these tasks and visually illustrates the project timeline. (Microsoft, 2013)
Suggestion 2: Increase communications between interns and their home universities
My second suggestion is to record minutes at meetings. As previously mentioned, the
LMS and Website project are big projects comprised of many tasks and issues. To
coordinate them, we had several team meetings and made several decisions. But we
didn’t record the decisions made at these meetings and, as a result, the team had difficulty
keeping track of discussions and decisions made.
So I recommend that the CEFD record minutes at meetings and make those minutes
available to the team. These minutes would guide each team member on what he or she
has to do and when it must be done. Also, it will help the CEFD keep track on what has
been and needs to be done.
The minutes could be recorded in a table with the following columns headings: topic,
discussion, action, person responsible, and due date. Figure 4-1 illustrates a blank table
that could be used to record minutes at meetings.
Suggestion 3: Strengthen Communication within the Telehealth and Network
Department
My third suggestion is to strengthen communication within the Telehealth department.
The Telehealth department provides accessible and specialized health care to remote
regions. To do so, it uses tele-communication technologies such as videoconferencing to
deliver healthcare services.
At the end of my internship, I was still uncertain what projects other teams in Telehealth
were working on, and what tools they were using. The likelihood that two groups within
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Telehealth might be working on identical or complementary projects is high. So is the
likelihood that people working on one of these projects might not know about similar
ones.
Knowing this information may help Telehealth save time, money and effort on a project.
For example, our colleague within the Telehealth department had worked on a project
similar to the LMS project. In his case, he had to select and manage a specific type of
medical software. He developed a scoring system that compares and contrasts
competing products. He let me use his scoring system to compare the LMSs. If I had not
talked to him about it, I would not have known that he had already finished a project
similar to mine. His advice saved me a lot of research time. Another example is that the
two teams within the Telehealth department were paying to use the same online survey
software, SurveyMonkey and paid double the amount of money.
To ensure a stronger exchange of knowledge and avoid unnecessary expenses and
duplication, I recommend that the Telehealth department strengthen its communication
system. Department leadership might set up monthly meetings where each team would
present their projects for 10 to 15 minutes. Or they can send out monthly newsletters with
updates on current projects.
Suggestion 3: Plan for unexpected circumstances on projects
My third suggestion is to strengthen communication within the Telehealth department.
The Telehealth department provides accessible and specialized health care to remote
regions. To do so, it uses tele-communication technologies such as videoconferencing to
deliver healthcare services.
At the end of my internship, I was still uncertain what projects other teams in Telehealth
were working on, and what tools they were using. The likelihood that two groups within
Telehealth might be working on identical or complementary projects is high. So is the
likelihood that people working on one of these projects might not know about similar
ones.
Knowing this information may help Telehealth save time, money and effort on a project.
For example, our colleague within the Telehealth department had worked on a project
similar to the LMS project. In his case, he had to select and manage a specific type of
medical software. He developed a scoring system that compares and contrasts
competing products. He let me use his scoring system to compare the LMSs. If I had not
talked to him about it, I would not have known that he had already finished a project
similar to mine. His advice saved me a lot of research time. Another example is that the
two teams within the Telehealth department were paying to use the same online survey
software, SurveyMonkey and paid double the amount of money.
To ensure a stronger exchange of knowledge and avoid unnecessary expenses and
duplication, I recommend that the Telehealth department strengthen its communication
system. Department leadership might set up monthly meetings where each team would
26
present their projects for 10 to 15 minutes. Or they can send out monthly newsletters with
updates on current projects.
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM
The Educational Technology program prepared me well to for the internship project. It
provided me with the theoretical framework as well as the opportunities to apply what I
learned into practice. This program can be further strengthened by offering a course on elearning tools, and modifying the message design course to focus more on how to clearly
and effectively deliver a message.
Suggestion 1: Introduce a full e-learning course for ETEC students
My first suggestion is to offer more courses on e-learning tools. At the beginning of this
program, I thought that we would be able to learn more about e-learning tools such as
Articulate, Morae Usability Testing, and Jing. I was disappointed that few courses
even discuss them. e-Learning is in demand and instructional designers need to be
informed about the existing tools out there.
One way to address this issue is to offer a course that specifically addresses e- learning
tools. Another would be to ensure that certain types of e-learning tools are discussed in
specific courses, making sure that, among all of those courses, all of the key types of
software are addressed.
Suggestion 2: Give an example of e-learning project in the project course.
My second suggestion is to modify the Message Design course (ETEC 635) to focus
more on how to clearly and effectively deliver a message. I assumed that Message Design
would teach me how to structure my sentences and design for usability (such as having a
push bar to push a door open as opposed to using a handle, which is usually used for
pulling the door open). However, the course did not cover any of these topics. Instead, it
mainly focused on learning theories such as constructivism and behaviorism. Message
Design should consider using the books, The Design of Everyday Things and The
Elements of Style by Donald Norman (both used in the Topics in HPT course).
SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE INTERNS
The last set of suggestions I would like to offer is to future interns: learn about the
different e-learning tools out there, and take all the technology related courses offered in
the Educational Technology program.
Suggestion 1: Plan for more e-learning projects and tools before the end of the
program.
My first suggestion is to learn about the different e-learning tools out there. e- Learning
tools were essential components of my internship but I was at a disadvantage because I
felt that I knew so little about them. I specifically felt at a disadvantage about usability
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testing, online survey and website development tools. As a result, I had to spend more
time in my internship researching these tools.
Learning about the different types of tools prior to the internship will save you a lot of
time and give you creative ideas of designing, developing and delivering online content.
Learning involves not only describing the types of tasks that the tools perform, but also
working with them. The specific types of tools that students should learn about include
authoring, usability testing, video editing, screen capture, web-survey development and
event-scheduling tools.
Suggestion 2: Learn more about your internship area and project in advance before
starting your internship
My second suggestion is to take all the technology-related courses in the Educational
Technology program. Technology-related courses are classes where students are given
projects that require them to use e-learning tools. For example, Introduction to Digital
Media (ETEC 665) required students to create a website using Dreamweaver.
These courses include Introduction to Digital Media (ETEC 665) and Designing and
Developing Web-based Instruction (ETEC 669). All of these courses prepared me for the
internship and to design e-learning. Through them, I learned how to use HTML,
REFERENCES
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